The boss of a charity devoted to helping some of the most vulnerable in society has compared the Torquay ‘fake homeless’ campaign to driving people out of Wild West towns.

John Hamblin, chief executive of Shekinah Mission which runs Factory Row homeless hostel in the town, said the campaign by Torquay businessman Ashley Sims to photograph and challenge those people begging on the streets to see if they are ‘professional beggars’ as ‘outrageous’.

And a group which helps the homeless says it will put people in danger. The charity PATH (Paignton Assisting Torbay’s Homeless) said in a statement: “PATH will never support anything that uses unverified information to put very complex and vulnerable people in danger. We were recently approached and consequently met with a person who heads this campaign. It quickly became apparent that their scheme is littered with pitfalls. Many of these were pointed out but sadly none of these have been heeded as yet.”

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Mr Hamblin told DevonLive: “Put simply, it is just wrong on so many levels. I am amazed any charity would support it for so many reasons. The man concerned keeps talking about how he is confirming people are homeless, I would question where he is getting the information from. Charities or any organisation working with the homeless would not be sharing that information with him.

“He is clearly making mistakes and ‘outing’ people who are genuinely homeless. It kind of feels a bit like the Wild West that we have got someone rounding people up in order to ship them out of town.

The warning to 'fake homeless'

“We know there are issues about begging, but there are ways of addressing that rather than naming and shaming people is just outrageous.

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“On every level, it is just wrong. Some of the comments on Facebook, the way individuals describe people on there, they should be ashamed of themselves.

“Many people begging have complex needs. ”

A campaign has been launched to stop 'professional' begging in Torbay

The campaign, being organised among others by Mr Sims, has seen homeless people in the town photographed, checked out with relevant charities, and those that they call professional beggars have been threatened that if they don’t leave the town, they will expose their identities.

He told BBC Spotlight that of the 17 photographed people, only two were genuine street homeless.

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Shekinah is a Devon based charity that provides opportunities for people in recovery or seeking recovery. They say this may include recovery from homelessness, drug and alcohol issues, offending behaviours or mental ill health. They have a range of projects across a number of locations and we provide a safe space for people to develop their skills, regain their self-worth and go on to live independent and fulfilling lives.